Indian players leave for London
THE first batch of Indian players, along with support staff, left for London on Tuesday for the World Test Championship final against Australia, set to be played from June 7-11 at The Oval.
The London-bound Indian team is to leave in batches and the congregation of the full squad for the WTC final will happen only by May 30, after the final of the IPL 2023 on May 28.
With their teams out of reckoning for the IPL play-offs, players like Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur are part of the first batch. Seniors Virat Kohli and R Ashwin, whose teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals are also out of the IPL, will be leaving later, most probably on May 24.
Umesh Yadav, whose team Kolkata Knight Riders is also out of the IPL, may also reach England later.
According to a Cricbuzz report, the original plan was to send the first batch immediately after the IPL league stage, which concluded on Sunday. However, some players have requested the BCCI to be allowed to leave at a later date.
“There may be departures everyday till May 30. Logistics arrangements are being made for almost every day,” said a BCCI official.
Meanwhile, Jaydev Unadkat, who has been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for a shoulder injury, is expected to be fit for the WTC final and he may leave after May 27.
Of the three standbys, pacer Mukesh Kumar will be part of the first batch and the other two, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav, will travel after their IPL sides, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, finish their engagements.
The report also mentioned that the team may not get a warm-up match and the plan is to play a game among the touring members after everyone arrives in London.
India captain Rohit Sharma, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, KS Bharat, and Ajinkya Rahane are busy in the IPL 2023 play-offs and will depart for the WTC final later.
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara is in England playing County Championships cricket and will join the Indian squad in London once they arrive.
India WTC Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS
Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, and Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper). Additionally, the standby players for the squad are Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Meanwhile, Kohli said he feels at the top of his game and is playing the best Twenty20 cricket of his career after scoring a record seventh century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.
Opener Kohli scored an unbeaten 101 off 61 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore, smashing 13 fours and a six during his innings, though it was not enough to guide his side to victory.
Bangalore’s six-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans saw them fail to make the play-offs.
“A lot of people feel my T20 cricket is declining, but I don’t feel like that at all. I feel I am playing my best T20 cricket again,” said Kohli after his second consecutive century.
“I’m just enjoying myself, this is how I play T20 cricket. I look to hit gaps, hit a lot of boundaries and the big ones in the end if the situation allows me to.
“You have to read the situation and rise up to the occasion when the situation demands, and that’s something I take a lot of pride in doing … I feel really good with my game at the moment and how I’m batting out there in the middle.”
Kohli overtook his former Bangalore
teammate Chris Gayle for most centuries in the IPL.
Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis said Kohli, 34, has a lot of cricket left in him.
“It just shows you Virat has got a lot left in the tank in T20 cricket as he is playing really well still,” the South African added.